Afterwards
by thisisnotreal123
Summary: Smacked fanfic now updated- plz r
1. In the beginning

I still do NOT own the CSI: NY characters and an advance notice- this will be a crossover with a British crime drama called New Tricks, whose characters I don't own either but I love the programme just as much

**I still do NOT own the CSI: NY characters and an advance notice- this will be a crossover with a British crime drama called New Tricks, whose characters I don't own either but I love the programme just as much. Please remember to review. By the way, this is a repost cos I didn't like my other version of this story.**

Mac could still remember vividly what he was doing when he got the call about the fire at Stella's apartment. He had stayed at work late and was trying to work on some of the unsolved cases that had been sitting on his desk for years now when his mobile started to vibrate across the table (being the professional he was, his phone was always set silent at work- that and the fact that he never knew what to choose for his ringtone, they always seemed too embarrassing).

"Taylor" he answered instinctively without looking at the caller ID

"Detective, we have just received a report of a fire at an apartment block at 35 and 5th. Still one woman and child unaccounted for."

He didn't know why, but the address didn't register with him as Stella's until he arrived there 10 minutes later and saw her car in the car park. It was then that all the memories of Frankie and how he'd nearly lost her came flooding back.

"Still one woman and child unaccounted for" was ringing in his mind. Somehow, he'd known that as soon as he'd realised Stella was involved, it would be her missing.

Trying to keep calm, he started to try to search for her. It was only when he got to the doors of the block of flats and started to demand that he be let in that he was told that everyone had got out.

"Even the woman and child?" he asked, praying that the fireman was right. The fire-fighter didn't need to answer, though because at that moment, Stella caught up with him (she'd been trying to get to him since she'd seen him arrive on scene).

"Mac, calm down. Listen to him- everyone is ok" Stella told him.

A smile broke out on his face as he finally realised they were right.

"Come on, let's get you clean and changed- and back to sleep!" Mac told her light- heartedly; relieved that the situation was not nearly as bad as the scenarios that had been playing over and over in his mind.

"This from the man who has stayed at work for days at a time- and on more than one occasion I might add" Stella replied, jokingly.

"Seriously though, I think there may still be a change of your clothes at mine and as I'm sure you are now going to try to convince me to let you work this case- which I might add, goes against every department protocol- you need to change out of your pyjamas."

"You read my mind, Mac. So you're letting me work the case?" Stella said

Mac's sigh showed her that she had won.

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Five hours later, and both of them had been able to catch up on some sleep as well as changed before being allowed back into the apartments when they had been declared safe. However, in the rush to get ready- they'd both overslept due to the 'interruption' in the night- neither of them had had time for breakfast so Mac had stopped off on the way to their scene at Starbucks to get coffees and Danish pastries for them both.

"Oh, you're truly a God send, Mac" Stella exclaimed upon seeing Mac with the food "and you even got me a Caramel Macchiato- my favourite" as she bear hugged him

"Mind the food!" he replied, which had been squished in its bag between the two of them during the hug though seeing Stella this happy meant the he was smiling now too.

They managed to solve the case by the end of shift but something had been bugging Stella since the middle of the case, Mac realised. He found himself, for the first time thinking that it may have been a mistake to let Stella work a case that she was involved in. it wasn't that she would compromise evidence, but seeing her so full of sadness made him wonder what it was that allowed him to stay in his office instead of going to comfort her. Of course, he knew it probably had something to do with the fact that her neighbour's kids weren't hers at all and Stella hadn't even suspected so until the team had found out so. So, for the first time in years, probably, he clocked off on time and took Stella home.

Another first was that Stella stared out of the window in silence for the whole journey. Normally, she would happily chat about everything and nothing, especially when it was Mac driving them to scene.

When they arrived at his home, Mac immediately started asking questions ten to the dozen as he checked that everything would be ok for Stella. She had slept on the couch the previous night, but he knew that the creaky old settee was not suitable for long term use. However, in his rush to sort out the practical arrangements he didn't notice Stella becoming more and more emotional until she collapsed in tears on the floor.

"Hey, come here." Mac said, shocked at the sudden outburst of emotion from his partner who usually so together, his support and now the roles had been reversed.

"I should have known"

"No, it wasn't your fault; it was 4 years, Stell"

"I'm a detective and I couldn't even see what was going on next door. I presumed that Austin was her child and that… and that" she let out another sob "the hole in the wall was cos he was spying on me. He was crying for help and I ignored him. Mac, I couldn't have cared less" she said as she pummelled his chest. Mac just held her tighter, knowing that more than anything; she needed to let her frustration at her own 'failures' out.

"I'll give you my resignation tomorrow."

"You know I won't accept it. As your boss, I know that you are the best CSI I've ever known. As your friend, I will not let you beat yourself up about something that you had no control over. And anyways, as soon as you'd leave, you come right back cos you'd be so bored."

The last sentence brought a slight smile to Stella's face. For the rest of the evening, they just sat eating fast food and watching chick flick before Stella fell asleep against Mac's chest, exhausted by the day's events, both physically and emotionally. Mac quickly realised that he was stuck so soon followed suit.

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The next day, they were both on evening shift and because all of Stella's belongings had been destroyed in the fire, spent the day shopping, much to her delight. By the time that their shift started, Stella had managed to max out all but one of Mac's credit cards and he was thanking God that it was the nearly the end of the month and he would be getting paid soon. They'd also managed to sort out sleeping arrangements as they both realised that they were comfortable enough to sleep in the same bed.

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A month later, and they had both settled into a routine. The rumours in the lab about the two had continued, though everyone knew better than to air them within ear shot of either of them. Then _that _day came. Mac and Stella had been having breakfast when the call came. Mac had taken it and, unusually, went into the bedroom to continue the conversation. Stella didn't really notice until Mac came back into the kitchen and told her that he would be leaving early to go directly to a scene but that there was no need to worry and she wasn't needed at the moment. Of course, Stella immediately knew something was up and able very quickly to get the truth out of him, though this time even she couldn't convince him to let her come with him, even if it was for his security.

"His demand said one and only ONE CSI, Stell. Even if I wanted you to come with me, I wouldn't be able to. I promise I'll be back ASAP."

Half an hour later and Stella was alone and decided to turn the news on. A big mistake, she thought as soon as the bulletin came on. The Bank Kidnapping was all over the news and she just sat there frozen by it though none of the news channels knew about Mac being there so she couldn't find out if he was safe yet. The wait was torturing her so after a few calls, she was given clearance to be able to come down to the scene.

Even being so close to where he was, the wait for news was still antagonising. One, two, three hours later and all they had were the pictures and the virtual autopsy he had sent them. Then it all kicked off. Stella could see it through the windows of the bank. Mac taking the kidnapper down, removing his weapon and letting the other hostages go. Stella was screaming over and over in her head for Mac to get out. He could now, they both knew that, but he wasn't. His conscience pulled him back and made let the kidnapper save face.

She was made to go to the house of the kidnapper's family and she felt sick when she arrived and realised it was empty. They had both been played and now Mac was still there. She tried to contact him, but he'd turned his phone back off.

Her phone rings and she prays that it's Mac saying he's okay but instead, it's Flack's boss saying that things have just got worse. They'd lost trace on Mac and the car with them both in is heading out of NYPD jurisdiction.

Stella ran as fast as she could back to her car and started driving towards where the last report of the car was seen. She had tears in her eyes but refused to let them fall- she had to stay strong and hope for Mac's sake.

Then she saw it. At first she thought that it was just a delusion that she was imaging due to her desperation to get Mac back. But as she got closer she realised that everything matched up. She just hoped that the captor wouldn't realise that he was being followed before she could stop him.

She sped up until she was by the side of the car, then rammed it to make it spin. Even though Mac was driving (and he was normally the best driver that Stella knew) he'd seen Stella's car approaching and instinctively knew what she would be trying to do.

The car spun 1 and half times before coming to a stop. Stella got out of her car and approached the car with her weapon still in its holster (she was now in her normal clothes as she'd left the vest in her car) under her jacket.

"Hello, hello. Can anyone hear me?" Stella asked as she moved towards the car.

The kidnapper hadn't been restrained and so ended up lying on the floor of the backseats whereas Mac was unharmed.

"I'm fine" Mac replied "but I think that my friend may be hurt." He didn't want to put Stella or himself at further risk of the kidnapper came to so didn't mention that he was kidnapped- even though they both knew that, the kidnapper didn't know that Stella was NYPD.

"Come on, we need to get you out of this wreckage" Stella responded in mock over friendly tones, like a nurse in hospital.

As they walked away, neither of them realised that a fire had broken out in the bonnet of the car until a loud bang threw them both to the ground. At the same time, Stella's phone started to ring.

"Stella, what the hell were you thinking? You know the rules- you should have told us." It was Flack on the phone.

"I've found Mac, he's safe." Stella said half laughing and crying.

"You what?" Now Flack thought he was hallucinating

"Mac- he's with me and we're both fine!"

"Where are you guys? I'm presuming not at the lab"

"Erm, I don't actually know. By my car, so if you can track it…"

"Why aren't you driving it?"

"Because it's next to a burning wreck of a car"

With this, Flack's footsteps could be heard increasing in speed

"Lindsay, I need you to trace Stella's car pronto so we can find her." Flack could be heard saying

"Already done, Flack. We're not as incompetent as you think we are."

Flack cam back on the phone- "We'll be with you guys in half an hour- just sit tight and Stella- don't run off anywhere."

"So you broke all the rules again Stell?"

"I was on auto- pilot. I jut knew I had to find you." The tears that Stella had refused to let fall on way to finding Mac now started to fall freely.

"Hey, like you said, we're both safe now. There's no need to worry."

"But I almost lost you and that's the worst feeling I've ever felt- worse than realising at 12 that I would never be adopted, even worse than remembering I was the one who'd killed Frankie. I don't know what I'd do without you Mac. I …"

Stella was cut off by Mac pressing his lips to hers. All the emotions from that day and the month before were let out in the passion of the kiss, which was only stopped by a need for air.

"I'm sorry." It was so like Mac to apologise for everything. Even when he'd done something right.

"What for? I love you, Mac" Stella replied as Mac's face light up in a smile at the realisation that she felt that same way as he did.


	2. The Surprise

Hey guys, thanks for all your reviews

**Hey guys, thanks for all your reviews. NB: I still don't own any of the CSI: NY characters. Oh and this is set round about six months to a year after the end of the last chapter. Please remember to review after reading, thanx. **

"That was the last box." Mac said as he collapsed exhausted onto the sofa in his and Stella's new apartment next to his partner.

"And you did a fabulous job too." She added.

"Let's not forget that you did your fair share too," Mac replied as he turned to kiss her.

"Whoa, one moment, can we chat?"

"Erm, it's a bit late for that, we've just brought the apartment." He said genuinely worried

"No, not one of _those _chats- just a chat about stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Just stuff, like children- I mean I've known you for 10 years and I still don't know whether you see yourself as a father one day or not."

"Well, Claire and I never got round to having kids and we'd kind of presumed that it would just happen one day. Since I lost her, well, I don't know, I just realised that maybe I wasn't a dad for a reason. Our hours are hardly suitable for raising a family and being a workaholic means that I would probably screw my kids' lives up by never being there. What about you?"

"I don't really know. I mean, I suppose, that our hours aren't really suitable for kids and I would hardly be the most maternal mother in the world, would I?"

Stella had always been able to read him better than he could read her, so Mac didn't pick up the disappointment on her face when she realised that he didn't want to be a dad.

"C'mon, let's see what on our new satellite dish" Mac said

They eventually agreed on some little known foreign film that they watched until they fell asleep on each other, just like the night that Stella moved in.

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Although Stella was saddened by Mac's response to her questions, she managed to work round it until a couple of months later. She and Sheldon were working a scene, which was by no means the worst that either of them had done, but all of a sudden Stella realised that she was going to be sick. In order to not comprise the scene she dashed to the perimeter cordon before emptying her stomach into the bin. However, the sudden movement caused her to suffer a sudden bout of vertigo, which resulted in her collapsing in a heap.

Sheldon was over to her in a shot and quickly administrated first aid before radioing over for an ambulance. Naturally, this meant that Mac heard what was going on and so was able to defy physics (and New York traffic) to arrive at the scene before the ambulance did. Of course, Stella had come round by that time but was still slightly confused and mumbling away about something to do with processing fingerprints.

"What happened, Hawkes?" said Mac, getting more worried by the second.

"Honestly, I don't know. We were processing a scene as normal when Stella goes as white as a sheet, rushes over to that bin, and throws up then faints. I rushed over there and put her in the recovery position. She came round within the minute…"

"But she's still confused?"

"Yeah, that really doesn't seem like Stella. Mac, I know you and Stella are close **(Stella and Mac had decided to keep their relationship private, so the team don't really know they're together). **Has she seemed off recently?"

"What do you mean off?"

"Anything that's not like her- losing appetite, more tired, etc.?"

"Well, she has been a little woozy recently and she was sick yesterday. She told me she thought she was coming down with the flu."

By then the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics were ready to take Stella to the hospital.

"Det. Taylor, Det. Bonasera is ready to go. Do you want to come in the ambulance too?"

There was no need for Mac to answer as he was already by Stella's side and looked like he wouldn't be leaving it anytime soon.

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It seemed like an age before they arrived at hospital to Mac, when it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes in real life. On arrival, Stell was taken through to a cubicle and Mac was told to wait in reception, although he tried every excuse in the book (and a few that weren't) to try to stay with her.

About half an hour later, he was finally allowed to see her but was shocked to see what she looked like. For the first time she looked, scared and broken. She had evidently just been crying as her eyes were puffy and red. Stella was also hooked up to a load of machines, most of which Mac didn't know the purpose of.

"Hey, it's ok" Mac said to Stella soothingly.

"No it's not, I've ruined everything."

"You just collapsed, the case wasn't compromised. It's fine. All I care about is you, Stell"

"No, you'll hate me. You'll leave me and we'll never work together again. I'm going to lose my best friend." She replied, as she started sobbing again.

"Whoa, where did this all come from? I love you Stell, NOTHING is EVER going to change that."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"I'm pregnant."

Mac gave no reaction, apart from looking dumfounded.

"See, you hate me already."

"No, I don't Stell. You know that conversation we had- I never asked you what you wanted. What do you want, Stell?"

She just sobbed before whispering "I just want to be a mum above all."

"Oh, Stell, I'm sorry, why didn't you say?"

"I thought that you would think I was silly. You did say that you never wanted kids."

"Stell, I could never think that of you." He paused. "And, you know what- I made a mistake- I can't think anything I'd rather do than have children with you."

Originally Mac and Stella agreed that she could stay in the field until she was six months pregnant. However, Stella started to show at 2 and a half months and an incident in the interview room 2 weeks later, where a suspect (later proven to be the murderer) pushed the table into Stella's stomach meant that Mac demanded her to be put purely on lab duty that day.

Of course, Stella had argued with him, complaining that she didn't need to be wrapped in cotton wool but Mac pulled the trump card of 'I just want to protect the two people I love the most', resulting in the first argument that Mac won with. They'd also had several 'debates' over whether to tell the team about themselves, and decided to tell them that Stella was expecting, but omit who the father was. They guessed that the team would realise who it was anyway, but it would save paperwork if it was not officially known.

**Please review. Also, if you have any ideas for baby names that you'd like me to use, review me with those. **


	3. The Revelation

Still, within a week of Stella going on lab duty, she was in Mac's office every quarter of an hour complaining about how she was going out of her mind and could she please go back on full duty, if only for a few more weeks

**Here's the update. I still don't own the rights to CSI: NY**

Within a week of Stella going on lab duty, she was in Mac's office every quarter of an hour complaining about how she was going out of her mind and could she please go back on full duty, if only for a few more weeks. Mac's answer remained constant- "We both know this is the best for the two of you, now back to work" so Stella, like Mac, had taken to looking at cold cases to spend the time.

Mac didn't realise that Stella had taken to doing this and only found out when two months later; she came into his office grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"What's gotten into you today?" Mac said, glad to see her finally happy in the lab since she had been confined to it.

"I've just got a lead in a 10 year old case."

"Go on."

"The DNA profile of the attacker matches an unsolved case in the UK."

"You know this how?"

"Ran the DNA samples through the international DNA database and it came up a match to a UCOS case"

"UCOS being…?"

"The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad. It's a team in the Met who specialise in cold cases."

Stella just stood there, pleading with her eyes for something, but what exactly Mac didn't know.

"What do you want, Stell?"

"To go to London to compare notes cos their case is more recent so there's a bigger chance of them being able to find out who the perp is."

"You've already booked the tickets, haven't you?"

Stella nodded.

"When for?"

"Four weeks time."

Mac just lost it. "Did you even think to ask me, you'll be six months gone by then Stell, do you know if it's even to fly?"

It was the first time that Mac had properly lost his temper with Stella and she couldn't cope with it anymore so she just turned and walked away.

Almost instantaneously, Mac realised how harsh he'd been with her and started to bang his fists against the desk in anger at himself before realising that it was not doing anything to help the situation. He thanked God that the lab had glass walls as it meant that he was immediately able to see that Stella had gone back to the break room and was trying to get a coffee from the vending machine.

Knowing she was only doing it to annoy him (because she actually gagged at the smell of it) he ran into the break room.

"I'm sorry."

"That just won't cut it this time Mac" Stella responded with her back to him so he couldn't see her crying again.

"No, it won't. Stell, I was just worried that you hadn't taken into consideration the fact that the flight could hurt you and/or the baby BUT I know that you would have checked that before even considering going to the UK."

"Hmm"

"And, whilst we're on this topic, why don't we start thinking about your baby shower. I know you've been looking at decorations and invites for it on the internet."

"Yeah but did you know that every time I do, I start crying cos there's no one I can invite- I don't have any family and the team don't even know we're together, let alone about to become parents."

"That can be rectified. I don't care how much paperwork I have to fill in- you deserve to be happy and if keeping us a secret isn't, then it has to stop."

Stella hugged him and he knew they'd be alright. The only problem left was how to tell the team.

He knew lab rules said that you had to give three weeks notice for any holidays and because he'd said to Stella that he would be coming with her to London, it would mean that the lab would be without the two most senior CSIs.

The next day, after giving out cases to the team (Stella is there cos she'd be bored otherwise and she knows what Mac's about to say), he announces that he has important information to share.

"Stella and I will be going to London in three weeks for a while to follow a lead on a cold case. Whilst we're away, Lindsay and Danny will be leading the lab. Any questions?"

Lindsay was the first to speak up "Erm, how long is a while?"

"We have leave for up to four months but we will be out there for as long as necessary, so be prepared for us to lengthen our trip or to be back within the week."

Sheldon had done the maths pretty quickly and realised something important was amiss "I know this is really none of my business but if you're going for up to four months, won't that mean that Stella's baby could be born in the UK?"

"That is a possibility." Mac replied, inwardly grinning as he knew his team were finally working out the paternity of her child.

"And you're okay with the baby being born 2000 miles from its father?" this time Hawkes addressed his question to Stella **(Stella had being telling the team that the father was her partner, but had refused to name him)**.

"On the contrary, I would be beside myself if that were to happen. However, considering that he will be going with me, that won't happen."

There was a pause before… "one minute, if the father is going with Stella to England and Mac and Stella are going together, then … no way… we would have guessed" Danny said as Lindsay fainted at the realisation. Stella gasped whilst Hawkes rushed to Lindsay to check she was okay.

**I know, I know, the baby still hasn't been born yet, but I didn't think it quite fitted in yet. Sorry. Baby names still wanted and please review.**


	4. London

Thanks for the reviews so far, I'm glad you all seem to like it

**Thanks for the reviews so far, I'm glad you all seem to like it. Disclaimer: I still don't own the CSI: NY characters or, unfortunately, the New Tricks characters either. **

The three weeks seemed to pass quickly, and in that time both Stella and Mac had been able to fully brief Danny and Lindsay on their new, albeit temporary, roles. Then it was time for the two to leave. The lab had thrown a baby shower of sorts. Given that the guys had attended too, it could hardly be called a proper one. The team had brought a large photo album, a couple of casting kits (the team were adamant that they had not brought double but one was for Stella's bump, the other for the baby's feet and hands) and baby clothes- including a mini Yankees top, which Mac wasn't too pleased with til Flack gave him a matching Cubs one.

Lindsay had also volunteered to drive them to the airport as they didn't even want to guess how much it would cost to park their car there for months possibly. Both women had tears in their eyes, and so did Mac- even though he'd never admit it. All too soon, Mac and Stella's flight was called and it was time for the final goodbyes. It was fine until they got on the plane when Stella started shaking.

"Hey, Stell, it's just a plane."

"I know that." But she didn't seem to be able to convince herself.

"You've never flown before, have you?"

Stella shook her head, "the orphanage didn't have the funds to take us far enough away to warrant a flight, then when I started to work, there was always other things to spend my money on than on foreign holidays."

Just then the plane's engines started and Mac gave Stella a boiled sweet, "what's this for?" she asked

"Eat this whilst we take off, it'll help."

Before they knew it, they were landing at Heathrow. Well, Mac knew it because he was awake, but Stella had fallen asleep midway through the flight and was none too happy when Mac woke her up as they flew over London. Det. Superintendant Sandra Pullman (head of UCOS) had already told them she'd meet them off the plane and sure enough she was there in the arrivals lounge with but was also with a man who introduced himself as Gerry Standing, another member of UCOS.

"I'm afraid you'll be staying with me whilst you're in the UK because Strickland (our 'lovely' boss, Gerry interrupted) Thank you Gerry, as I was saying, because Strickland has decided our budget can't stretch to giving you a hotel room. I'm sorry." Sandra told them

"No worries, we know that problem all too well." Mac replied, smiling, "are we going to go to your office, now?"

"No, not when you've just arrived. We're going to show you the sights, I know this isn't New York but I still hope you've brought a camera." Gerry told them to which Stella produced her pink digital camera out of her handbag and Sandra said "I have a feeling we are going to get on very well, Det. Bonasera."

In the next hour, they managed to go to Buckingham Palace where they had photos taken at the gates, gone on a boat ride down the Thames where they saw Tower of London and London Eye, which they were now on.

"Oh look Stell, you can see for miles."

"Do you work at New Scotland Yard?" Stella asked Sandra

"No, we're based at Ealing about 10 miles from here. Why, did you want to visit it cos I can arrange that for you if you want?"

"It's okay, I was just wondering."

Meanwhile, Gerry was talking to Mac.

"How long have you been with Stella?"

"How on earth did you guess that?"

"I've been married three times; Mac and I've seen the way you look at her. Plus, I know that she wouldn't have come out here until possibly after the baby's born without the father."

Mac smiled, "erm about a year, yeah, it'll be exactly a year next week end. Shit."

"You forgot?" to which Mac nodded

"No worries, I'll help you sort something out."

"Thanks"

The other side of the pod, Sandra was still chatting to Stella.

"So how long have you been with Mac?"

"A year, but we were friends for 15 years before that."

"But it took something major for him to realise you could be anything more than pals?"

Stella nodded, "he was kidnapped- long story- and I sort of rescued him. While we were waiting to be picked up, we talked and a year later this is the result" she said pointing to her bump to which Sandra laughed.

"Anyway, I don't about you but I'm starving. Have you heard of Oxford Street? Shopping heaven and I'm sure there's bound to be a decent café nearby."

"Um, sounds good, though I'm not sure Mac will enjoy an afternoon's retail therapy."

In fact, Mac was more than happy to let Stella go off shopping with Sandra as he'd already arranged to go off with Gerry, though to where exactly, he refused to say. They meet back up three hours later and Sandra and Gerry took them over to the UCOS office briefly to meet the rest of the team, i.e. Brian Lane and Jack Halford before Sandra took them back to hers so they could settle in and tell the team back in NY that they had arrived and were fine as it was now a reasonable hour there.

**Hope you liked the update, sorry for the delay but I've been on holiday for two weeks in France with no access to the internet so could not update before and I will say now that this story will have no link to events in the current series of New Tricks. Please review.**


	5. Another Body

Here's the next chapter, hope you like this one as much as you all seem to like the story so far

**Here's the next chapter, hope you like this one as much as you all seem to like the story so far. Please read and review. **

The next morning, Mac and Stella, despite their jet lag managed to get up and to work with Sandra so that they could be fully briefed on the case and start work on finding the killer. His MO was quite simple- slashing prostitutes necks both left and right handed- but the problem was a. no CCTV of any possible suspects and no witnesses, and b. he'd already killed in the US and UK and they couldn't even be sure that he was still in Britain. There was some good news, however, DNA samples had been found in four cases (two in each country) which is how they'd managed to link the cases and though there was no match in the DNA database at the moment, UCOS was about to get clearance to try a new technique on the samples where they would look at the DNA to get a physical profile of the perp.

In fact, the call came five minutes after Brian had finished giving the brief and so they were able to send off the samples that afternoon which meant that the men from UCOS were able to introduce Mac to a proper British pub at lunch and Stella was able to help Sandra with some other UCOS cases that they still hadn't got round to solving during their working lunch, which is also when she had her first encounter with Strickland. He came striding into the office about to congratulate them on getting permission for the DNA profiling when he realised ¾ of the team were missing, along with Mac.

"Sandra, can I talk to you alone for a moment?"

"With due respect, sir, Det. Bonasera knows the rules and is not about to blab confidential information so you can tell her whatever you want to tell me."

"Fine, where are your team? Just because we have a development in a case it does mean that they can indulge themselves in a liquid lunch, which is where I presume they are."

Stella could barley contain her laughter at this so stepped outside, whilst Strickland continued to berate Sandra.

"And whilst she's out of earshot, do you mind telling me why you have invited a heavily pregnant woman from America here? I'm sure she would have been a lot safer staying at home."

"For you information, Det. Bonasera was the person who made the link between the two cases, from all accounts is one of NYPD's finest and do you really think she'd come out here if she thought it was unsafe for her or her unborn child? Please leave."

Stella returned a minute later with two glasses of water to see Sandra fuming

"The nerve of him. Feel free to punch him if you want because you're not under his authority and can't punish you."

"He can't be that bad."

"He as good as said that he thought you were incapable of your job because you're pregnant."

"What?"

"Exactly."

When the men returned, Mac went for a private chat **(which is by no means code for anything else)** with Sandra in her office and when they closed the blinds Gerry and Stella both went to peak through them.

"Gerry, do you know what they're saying?" Stella asked him.

"No, sorry, can't read her body language so well with Mac, Brian- now that's easy cos she permanently wants to knock some sense into him and his weirdness out." **(I should explain at this point to people who do not watch New Tricks that Brian is a workaholic, recovering alcoholic with a chemical imbalance in the brain which can make him mentally unstable and a photographic memory)**

"Heard that" said Brain from the other side of the office.

Just then Mac and Sandra started to move towards the door and it was a rush for Stella and Gerry to get away from the window before the other two came out.

All was quiet for a further five minutes before the team received a call. It was from the police in Oxford saying they'd found a body fitting the MO of their killer. Of course, this resulted in a day trip the next day to meet Detective Inspector Lewis and collect the evidence. He took them to see the body as it had now been identified.

The post mortem had just been finished when the team (including Mac and Stella) arrived, and the CSIs were surprised to see that it was none other than Peyton Driscoll who had performed it.

"Hello Mac… and Stell." Peyton said upon seeing them arrive, "long time no see."

"One minute- you know each other?" Sandra asked, startled.

"Peyton Driscoll, ME, worked at the New York crime lab 2006 to 2007." Brian interrupted before anyone else could answer.

"How on earth do you know that?" Peyton said, annoyed at the relative stranger knowing personal information.

"He knows just about every police and related employees' employment records." Gerry responded.

"Whoa, that's some feat." Stella said, half amazed, "but still freaky." She added under her breath, earning a nudge in the side from Mac.

The victim had been killed exactly the same way as the others, but this time, he'd left a hair at the scene.

"Finally, he's starting to get careless." Mac said as they returned to the office that evening for a debrief.

As he said that, Brian started to tap on his keyboard at a rate of knots.

"What is it, Brian?" Jack asked **(sorry I've missed him out so far, Jack Halford is the oldest member of the team and used to be Sandra's boss before he retired and was recruited into UCOS) **

"If he's getting careless, there's a chance that he may have left CCTV evidence as well. Where was she found again?"

"In a car parked on Mulberry Road. Registration X789 ASD" **(these are RANDOM, I'm sorry if it's your road or reg. number) **Sandra answered.

10 minutes later Brian exclaimed, "Result!" to which the rest of the team rushed over to see what he'd found.

"The car the vic was found in was one of residents that the murderer broke into but this clip shows a woman who looks the spit of our vic with a man going towards Mulberry Road."

"Can you improve the picture?" Gerry asked, trying to make sense of the grainy picture.

"Yes, but it will take hours."

"Then we'll go home and continue this tomorrow." Sandra ordered.

"Sorry bout that- Brian has a tendency to go overboard, gets completely absorbed in cases then won't go home for weeks and forget to take his meds."

"Remove the last part and you've got Mac here, trust me it's not rare" Stella added.

"Hey!"

"What? It's true."

"Humph."

"You are getting better; you don't work for more than 12 hours in one go."


	6. Anniversary

Sorry for the delay in updating- too much work

**Sorry for the delay in updating- too much work!**

Unfortunately, they got no further leads for the rest of the week, forcing Sandra to allow the team to take leave until Monday when they would be getting the results of the DNA tests back. Sandra and Stella spent that time going over the case to try and find a breakthrough that they may have missed (though this proved to be unrewarding so after the first day they just settled into a TV and junk food marathon). Mac, on the other hand, still seemed very preoccupied with something and spent his time on the laptop and phone **(NOT to Peyton, which Stella knows- though that is all she knows about it)**.

On Friday afternoon, Sandra started to complain of cabin so took Stella shopping for clothes and when they returned, Mac announced that he was taking Stella out for the evening, though when they arrived at St Pancreas station, she figured out that they might be out for a bit longer.

It turned out that Mac had booked a weekend break to Paris to celebrate their anniversary and the rest of the team had known about it and helped organise it- hence Sandra taking Stella out so that Mac could pack.

When they arrived at the Gare du Nord, a limo was waiting for them and took them directly to the Ritz. Stella couldn't believe it and demanded to know whether Mac was joking with her. When he replied that they were seriously staying at the Ritz, she asked how on earth he could afford it, to which he replied that he'd been saving up for a while with a smile.

The next day, whilst Stella begged to go shopping, Mac was adamant that they were going on a boat ride on the Seine. Stella joked that his wallet was finally biting back- but he pretended not to hear.

Stella couldn't understand why Mac would think it so important to go on a boat trip- something they could have done anywhere- until Mac took her onto the deck saying there was something he wanted to show her. That something turned out to be a model of the statue of liberty on the Île des Cygnes **(in the middle of the Seine River)**. Stella was so surprised by this (she hadn't known about it before) that she didn't notice Mac kneel down next to her and pull out a ring box from his jacket until he started to speak.

"Stella… (She gasped as the realisation of what was about to happen sunk in)… I love you more than I can say and my only regret is that I didn't realise it sooner. You've made me the happiest man in the world by being there every moment, good and bad, for me and making me a dad-to-be. I'd just like to ask you if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife so Stella Frances Bonasera, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Mac, of course I'll marry you." Stella replied, her voice cracking with emotion and tears brimming in her eyes.

The rest of the passengers cheered and they realised that their proposal had been caught on camera.

"Mac, why is Gerrard's name on the ring box?"

"It's not Gerrard's name- it's the royal jewellers because it would have to be fit for a Queen before it could be good enough for my Stella."

"Oh, Mac, you're so, oh I love you so much." She replied as she kissed him passionately.


	7. Sorry

Hi guys, really sorry, and you're probably going to hate me for this but I have an absolute ton of work right now and I don't think it will ease until the end of the year so I can't update til then (if at all). However, feel free to complete my stories if you want.


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